Open Daily:
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Current Time:
5:15 AM
Directions:
727 W Main Street
Louisville, KY 40202
(502) 561-6100
[email protected]
×
Open Daily:
9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Current Time:
5:15 AM
Directions:
727 W Main Street
Louisville, KY 40202
(502) 561-6100
[email protected]
Kentucky Science Center is open 7 days a week from 9:30AM-5PM. Tickets can be purchased online.

Sonic Sensation

Sonic Sensation

Sonic Sensation is a 1,500+ square feet hands-on interactive museum exhibition that will introduce children and their families to the science of sound and hearing.  Through the use of open-ended exhibits, visitors will better understand the physical and mathematical principles governing sound and gain a better understanding on how we interpret sounds.  The exhibition will serve to inspire and educate visitors through their interaction with the exhibits and each other.  

Discover the awesome power of sound! Create sound waves in a tube. Match mystery sounds. Test your hearing. Sort high and low pitches on a turntable. Can you locate a cricket and cat in a kitchen just by listening? Mix a soundtrack. Launch a sound wave toward an eardrum. How many decibels can you produce with your own voice? Team up and let out a roar in the Scream Chamber!

Sonic Sensation (Exhibition) was developed and is owned and managed by Sciencenter and will close May 21st.

Sonic Sensation is sponsored by

Sonic Sensation highlights

  • Scream Chamber: Visitors step into a semi-soundproof chamber, close the door, and let out a scream! A partner reads the decibel meter mounted on the outside of the chamber.  Compare that to other sounds on a chart. Can a visitor scream as loud as a howler monkey? The competition gets fierce and funny!
  • See Sound: Watch foam bits “dance” in all kinds of interesting patterns in a long, clear tube.  Speakers at both ends of the tube drive the air rapidly back and forth; although the air is invisible, it’s making the foam bits move in unexpected patterns.  Below the tube is an oscilloscope illustrating the motion of the vibrating cones on the speakers.  What happens to the pattern as the amplitude or frequency knobs for the speakers are turned?
  • Music in Motion: Be a musician! Wiggle, jiggle, kick or flick across a musical-themed carpet while a camera overhead displays the maestro of this giant “keyboard” on a large-screen TV. Visitors move through the motion-sensing zones shown on the monitor to “play” different sounds. Explore what makes music. 
  • Critters in a Cupboard: A visitor hides a “cat” or “cricket” in one of the 24 kitchen cupboards and asks a partner to find it by listening!  For a challenge, can they find the critters while covering one ear?  A graphic explains how two ears are used to locate sounds.
  • How’s your Hearing? With headphones on, visitors adjust the volume of different frequency ranges for each ear and record their results on a chart.  Are the results the same for both ears?  Can one ear hear certain frequencies at lower or higher volumes than the other ear?

    AND MORE!